Ava of Tortall
by MDover18
Summary: Set in the world of Beka Cooper. Ava is new to Corus and gets tangled in the relationship between Guard and Rogue.


Here I knew what to expect, or so I thought. As these confusing events unfold I decided to write it all down as it really happened. I write this firstly to keep it straight in my head and secondly to know that somewhere the real story is written down. Since no will read this except me, I will not have to use the lies we told the Guard. This is what is really going on. It all started as I walked down the dark streets of the Lower City. Instead of being scared I felt like I was at home for the first time in a long while. The stench of waste and garbage was something I knew. A place where no one could be trusted, but no one did anything unexpected. I knew which direction danger was coming from so when I saw a drunken brawl it did not surprise me.

It was outside of a tavern at about one in the morning. The only thing out of the ordinary was a Dog sneaking out and leaving another Dog to handle it all by herself. Now I am not some do-gooder but something about being abandoned by your partner made me want to help her. I always had weapons near by so it was barely a second before I palmed my knives and entered the brawl. This fight was not for daisies. Knives and swords were drawn, and they were all drunk stupid.

I attacked the first man I saw. He was using daggers and more often then not hit the wrong target. I swept his feet out from under him and slammed his head with the hilt of my knife. After that the fight happened in a blur. Just a lot of slashing and stealing the fallen's weapons. I do remember eventually reaching the Dog in the middle of the mess. She glanced at me, which left the smallest opening for an attacker to slice his blade in. I blocked the blade and gave her a slight nod and we returned to the fight back-to-back. Eventually the brawl started to thin as people came to their senses or started vomiting up the ale. I turned to the Dog and saw red start to seep onto her black uniform.

"You hurt?" I asked although I already knew the answer. She moaned once and then collapsed onto the ground. She had definitely lost too much blood. I hoisted her up and a gently as possible slid her onto my shoulder. I was a strong mot but she was a sight taller than me.

There was one thing I needed to know "Where should I take you?"

"Jane Street Kennel" and then she passed out cold, which was for the best. The cut would hurt more with each step I took. I knew where Jane Street Kennel was even though I had just arrived to Corus, and then I had a stroke of luck. We passed a place where they sell amulets and the like. I had no Gift but I did have a few magics. As we passed the booth I drew the power out of the healing amulets and placed it on the Dog. It wasn't much but her skin closed up. Her insides were still cut up but she wouldn't die of blood loss. I hurried because my tiny magics would not last forever. Jane Street wasn't far.

The moment I entered Dogs surrounded me from all sides. The Dog I was carrying was taken before I could realize what was happening. Words flew so fast I couldn't understand em'.

"Shut it and let me talk to her," pierced through the air. A short hard woman walked through the scattering people. She was a tough mot who had seen her share of fights. I was never good at ages but she looked worn except it only made her appear stricter not rundown. She had power and lots of it. It was her who needed to be impressed by me before I ended up in the cages.

"Who hurt my girl?" she barked.

"Men. Lots of em' brawling in the streets." She was tough but I wasn't gonna back down. Life had thrown me too and I refused to lose for helping a Dog.

"Everyone clear out! Someone go grab Holborn and don't let him go mad. She's gonna be fine. Now let me talk to the lass." Everyone cleared out like there was a fire. Not only was this woman powerful but I would bet that the mot I saved was very important to this Dog. "What happened and spit it out before I get bored here."

"I saw a Dog walking into a brawl to save her partner. Soon after the partner she went in to save left the brawl scared. I couldn't leave a Dog like her to fight by herself. Went in fought some of em'. Eventually it cleared but I saw the Dog was hurt. " Here is where I told the only lie "I used an amulet that healed her skin and stopped the blood. She told me where to go and here I am."

" You best not be lying. Once I get a mage in here you tell that exact same story under a truth spell."

Hiring a mage to do a truth spell was expensive. Most kennels wouldn't get one for one of their Dogs. I have to be careful to not lie but not say all of the truth.

"Got nothin to hide Mistress so I'll wait for the mage."

"I trust you but the mage, well he's married to Beka so he'll still wanna test ya."

"A course," I had nowhere to go anyway. I noted that the Dog's name was Beka and that she was married to a mage. That sort of thing was uncommon specially if the mage was powerful enough to do a truth spell and the Dog worked nights in the Lower City. "Is he the only one I need to be wary of?"

She shifted her weight and an uneasy look crossed her face. "Well we should get to him first, but you should be careful."

"Who? Her Da someone important?" It was fare unusual for a noble to become a Dog, if the noble was a girl then it was near impossible.

"No, nothing like that. The one you should look out for is a friend, a loyal friend although he's not the most respectable. Since it is personal he would do it himself, so watch for a man called Rosto the Piper."

"Who is he?" She didn't appear to want to explain the situation with Rosto. Maybe he was an embarrassment to be friendly with a Dog.

"He's King of the Thieves. Now my people should get to him first, but some blabber mouth who can't keep his gob shut might tell him that you were with Beka. He shouldn't kill you on sight, but it depends on what he heard and how mad he is."

What a lovely day I was having.


End file.
